Sunday, 12 February 2012

We've done it. After years of fantasizing and months of deliberating, plus a couple of weeks of nervous hesitation, we've done it. First it was him who had cold feet, then it was my turn. We almost didn't do it. We finally sat down and weighed the pros and cons. I sat at the computer with a spreadsheet of dates. We had Plan A and Plan B. Then Plan C.

We asked ourselves:

Will we really enjoy it?

Will it change our relationship?

Aren't we just making things more complicated?

Of course, yes, but will it be worth it?

What kind of precautions should we take?

There were more questions we had to ask:

Can we afford it?

Will the kids enjoy it or learn from it or even remember it?

How many times will they be asking "Are we there yet?"

Can we survive hotel breakfast buffets for four months?

When again would we be able to have all the necessary elements simultaneously: time, money, kids who are young enough not to be embarrassed to be seen with their parents?

He asked:

Shall I keep a beard?

I asked:

How many pairs of shoes can I bring?

Our children asked:

Are there earthquakes where we're going?

Its once-in-a-lifetime. We're doing it. We've gotten our tickets for our round-the-world trip. Then I watched the movie Revolutionary Road. If you've seen it too, you'll understand that, boy, am I relieved we decided to go ahead with this trip.

Two gifts we want to leave our children: roots and wings. Roots for them to know where they come from, and to keep them grounded. Wings to soar above everything, to go where we never could. To do this, sometimes we need to uproot.